Research from North Carolina State University finds that the number of backers a new product attracts during crowdfunding predicts the financial success of the product when it reaches the marketplace - but the amount of money raised during crowdfunding does not.

"A lot of people initially see crowdfunding solely as a way to raise money - but, to me, it seemed like a way to learn and create a community that raises awareness of a product," says Michael Stanko, an associate professor of marketing in NC State's Poole College of Management and lead author of a paper on the work. "So, I wanted to know whether my perception was accurate. How important is the dialogue with crowdfunding backers? What aspects of a crowdfunding campaign contribute to a product's later success in the market?"

To address those questions, the researchers started with data on more than 1,000 successful Kickstarter campaigns related to product innovations in four categories: technology, product design, hardware and video games. The researchers contacted the people behind those campaigns with a survey designed to learn more about their experiences and the market success of their products. The entrepreneurs were contacted one to two years after successfully completed crowdfunding campaigns.